MANCHESTER // The cliche holds that records are there to be broken. So, on this occasion, were Norwich City hearts. As Manchester United erased a 106-year statistic from the history books by winning a 19th successive home league match, they displayed the cruelty of champions.
Anderson and Danny Welbeck delivered the telling touches, yet in a match where United got the points, Norwich merited the plaudits. They frustrated the league leaders and had their opportunities to finish them off. Instead United completed a perfect year on their own patch.
Yet a pertinent statistic is that, even in conceding twice, Norwich presented the most resistance to Sir Alex Ferguson's side at Old Trafford.
"Two years ago we were in League One," manager Paul Lambert said, providing a reality check and a measure of their rapid improvement. On a ground where Arsenal's defence had been breached eight times and Chelsea's and Tottenham Hotspur's thrice apiece, Norwich's goal was essentially unthreatened until the final quarter.
Then United demonstrated that they possess an invaluable ability to turn unpromising performances into victories, as well as a squad with rare depth. Each goal involved a replacement, albeit men at either ends of their careers.
For the opener, the veteran Ryan Giggs's corner was headed on by Wayne Rooney. Anderson, lurking like a professional poacher rather than a man with six previous goals in a four-year United career, redirected the ball over the line. "You don't expect Anderson to score with a header," Ferguson said.
The Brazilian was in more familiar territory for the second, sending a probing pass in for Park Ji-sung to set up Welbeck, another replacement, for a simple finish. While Wayne Rooney subsequently clipped the bar with a deft chip, even a second goal was harsh on Norwich.
By that stage, Lambert had three strikers on the pitch, boldly pursuing a point. However, Norwich's two clearest chances, either side of Anderson's goal, went to their left winger.
They were the opportunities for Anthony Pilkington to complete a fairy-tale return. None of Norwich's assortment of outsiders have travelled quite as far or as fast as the Lancastrian.
Released by United a decade ago, he has taken the long route back to Old Trafford, reviving his career at Atherton Collieries, in English football's 10th flight.
Briefly, his roots at lower levels showed. When Wes Hoolahan attempted to thread a pass through the United defence, Antonio Valencia met it, but a lax touch enabled the ball to reach its intended target as Pilkington robbed him, advanced and angled his shot just past the post.
"An incredible chance," Ferguson said.
"Anthony Pilkington's chance might have been the turning point but that is being harsh on him," Lambert added.
Pilkington should have scored then; he could have equalised later. A shot deflected off Anderson, stranding Anders Lindegaard but bouncing back to safety off the post.
"If you don't take your chances against a team like that, it comes back to haunt you," Lambert said. "You can't keep them quiet for 90 minutes."
His side mounted a fine attempt to, though: in an uneventful first hour, there was a solitary opening of note, not least because it was so improbable.
Out of nothing, the artisan aimed to be the artist, Darren Fletcher meeting Nani's corner with a back-heeled volley. Marc Tierney, on sentry duty on the goal-line, denied the Scot the sort of goal that would have belied his image as an unflashy, unassuming worker.
Those, indeed, were the characteristics Ferguson felt his side showed. "We showed grit and determination and never gave up, which are great qualities to have," he said. "They were very difficult to break down."
Indeed they were. Individuals such as Russell Martin, impressive in the heart of defence, and Tierney, terrific at left-back, merit praise, but it was a collective effort.
Pilkington's misses were swiftly forgiven. "There's no blame attached to anybody today," Lambert said. "Those lads gave me absolutely everything."
And yet, callously, they were rewarded with nothing.
sports@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman
Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed PDK
Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411